Welcome to Texas justice: You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Tuff on crime getting tough on Waco taxpayers

In McLennan County, judges and county officials spoke last week with unusual candor about the economic costs of District Attorney Abel Reyna's "tuff-on-crime" approach to plea bargaining, which the Waco Tribune Herald reported ("Judges overhaul crowded dockets due to crowded jails," Jan. 13) has resulted in "unnecessary delays and ease jail overcrowding." The county's two criminal district judges have taken measures to speed up the plea bargaining process. They're concerned with the number of defendants "riding the docket," or refusing to accept a quick plea bargain, in part because the new District Attorney Abel Reyna engages in overcharging. “As a matter of policy, prosecutors need to be making their best offer
first,” [Judge Matt] Johnson said. “Because if they make their worst offer first,
people are going to ride the docket.” A defense attorney quoted in the story said, “When Mr. Reyna took office,
the offers that had historically been at one level are now up three to
four times on every type of case.” The judges, though, not to mention county commissioners who must pay for the jail costs, want the DA to negotiate more cases more quickly, and to consider the costs of being "tough.". Reported the Trib:

The changes come a week after McLennan County commissioners discussed
budget woes fueled in recent years by a growing jail population that
hovered this past week around 1,300 inmates.

Based on current trends, the county may spend $5 million this year to
house overflow inmates from the McLennan County Jail, which is $2
million more than budgeted. That could deplete county contingency funds
or dictate cuts in other areas, county officials warned.

County Judge Scott Felton told commissioners if citizens elected
District Attorney Reyna and new Sheriff Parnell McNamara because they
embraced their tough-on-crime platforms, they must be willing to pay for
the results, including possible tax increases to pay for jail
operations.

McLennan County Judge Scott Felton during a county commissioners
meeting laid bare the escalating, out-of-control jail costs draining
county coffers. The numbers presented were shocking: One of every four
dollars is now being spent to house and care for inmates — up from
$900,000 in fiscal year 2009 and destined to hit as much as $5.5 million
this fiscal year.

Felton’s transparency in a court long known as
less than forthcoming was not only appreciated but necessary. The
commissioners court before Felton’s arrival seldom went into such depth
in open session about fiscal challenges facing it and the public.
Felton’s approach, however, just might get us all working on the same
page to solve this latest crisis impacting our jail system.

“This
is not a fiscal cliff but it sure is a rough hill we are going on right
now,” Felton said. “One of the biggest elephants in the room is that
jail population and it has the biggest affect on our fund balance.”

Commissioner
Ben Perry compared inmate statistics from Bell and Brazos counties,
which average about 600 per day. McLennan County, however, houses
between 1,100 and 1,300 per day — and pays a hefty price to do so.
Brazos County had 12,000 inmates in 2012; Bell County, 19,088. McLennan
County last year cared for an astonishing 36,000 inmates.

The paper opined that, "at least part of the problem results from officials who, acting on the
message voters sent them, are tough on crime. Taxpayers must understand
that if we want criminals aggressively prosecuted and locked up, there’s
a very real price to pay."

There's a lot of "docket-riding" (I love that term, by the way)in the Bexar County misdemeanor courts because of the lack of a pretrial diversion program and the DA's hard line on DWIs. No telling how much it costs (and I mean literally, I don't know of anyone who's tried to measure it) but the DA ultimately ends up getting nothing when the cases are dismissed a few years later, when she could've gotten at least half a loaf. Being tough on crime indeed has its costs. Thanks for highlighting it.

Someone needs to get the records and do a study of the real reasons of the overcrowding, which has absolutely nothing to do with the crime rate.

I have been personally involved on multiple occasions and the McLennan County justice system is a total fiasco. Despite the electronic advancements available, none of these entities are able to communicate with one another.

The Courts drag their feet on appointing attorneys for weeks and months, the DA's office can't get the dismissal paperwork on the often over-charged cases to the jail for release and the Probation Department takes five days to do the paperwork for release after a Court disposition.

OMG, I do believe these are not just daily fiscal issues, but also CIVIL RIGHTS issues and another potential financial problem for poor McLennan County!

Hey Grits, at some point the camel's back will break and the goofballs that live, vote & pay taxes in McLennan county will have gotten what they paid for. Just watch and see, folks will be moving out asap.

I for one hope and pray that no one plea bargains and it causes them to have to file for bankruptcy and becomes another Baptist ghost town. McWhat? Thanks.

A human obtains a lawyer / attorney that does absolutely no pre-trial investigation, files little or no pre-trial motions of any quality 30 days prior to any trial date. Then has the balls to file numerous "Ready for Trial" notices and then spends every chance he / she can get on trying to convince the client to take the plea. The lie of the century is that - Guilty or Not, you are going prison just for being arrested while on probation on a new unrelated charge, followed by - it was revoked the minute you got arrested.

Even more insulting is the fact that the law allows for the unqualified to be a criminal defense attorney for a day. Combined, you get jail over crowding, a 90 percent and up plea bargain rate and court dockets jamepacked with the same names ever 30 days. Thanks goofy taxpayers.

"I always tell people interested in these issues that your blog is the most important news source, and have had high-ranking corrections officials tell me they read it regularly."

- Scott Medlock, Texas Civil Rights Project

"a helluva blog"

- Solomon Moore, NY Times criminal justice correspondent

"Congrats on building one of the most read and important blogs on a specific policy area that I've ever seen"

- Donald Lee, Texas Conference of Urban Counties

GFB "is a fact-packed, trustworthy reporter of the weirdness that makes up corrections and criminal law in the Lone Star State" and has "shown more naked emperors than Hans Christian Andersen ever did."

-Attorney Bob Mabry, Conroe

"Grits really shows the potential of a single-state focused criminal law blog"

- Corey Yung, Sex Crimes Blog

"I regard Grits for Breakfast as one of the most welcome and helpful vehicles we elected officials have for understanding the problems and their solutions."

Tommy Adkisson,Bexar County Commissioner

"dude really has a pragmatic approach to crime fighting, almost like he’s some kind of statistics superhero"

- Rob Patterson, The Austin Post"Scott Henson's 'Grits for Breakfast' is one of the most insightful blogs on criminal justice issues in Texas."

- Texas Public Policy Foundation

"Nobody does it better or works harder getting it right"

David Jennings, aka "Big Jolly"

"I appreciate the fact that you obviously try to see both sides of an issue, regardless of which side you end up supporting."

Kim Vickers,Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and EducationGrits for Breakfast "has probably broken more criminal justice stories than any TX reporter, but stays under the radar. Fascinating guy."

Maurice Chammah,The Marshall Project"unrestrained and uneducated"

John Bradley,Former Williamson County District Attorney, now former Attorney General of Palau

"our favorite blog"

- Texas District and County Attorneys Association Twitter feed"Scott Henson ... writes his terrific blog Grits for Breakfast from an outhouse in Texas."